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Thomas Balamont DeFortiere
Early Life Balamont was born as "Thomas Balamont Bras McClendon", holding his father's surname, to the swamp-ish environment of Crestfall, spending most of his time within the weeping trees or on the beaches, looking outward to the open sea. Operating a fishing boat was the first art he learned, followed by how to tell an alligator from a rock, and then firing a pistol. During the second war, his village was invaded by Orcs and saved by navymen believed to be Daelin's son and his crew, while in reality a simple naval detachment. All the same, it fueled his longing for join the Tirassian militant forces. By the time he was sixteen there was little he had to learn in training as far as the navy went. At eighteen he was put on one of the newer Crestfallian fleets, the '' Daelin's Pride'', under command of his childhood friend Lynne Holton. Once he proved himself good enough at getting rid of higher priority targets, he was trusted with the helm of the Admiral's Dagger, a ship made for stealth-boardings. Balamont became even more adept at sailing through this, being forced to constantly watch himself and stay out of sight. Some time after Lordaeron fell, they were ambushed near Durotar, destroying all the ships but the Raven's Call in the Daelin's Pride which managed to escape the chaos. Mercenary Work After returning to Kul Tiras on the Raven's Call he was informed that the paperwork had already gone through, and so Balamont opted to work as one of the military's privateers, which involved hunting down lost orcs, deserters, spies along the coast, swamps, and the seas around the Kingdom. Although the government payed reasonably well, the criminal organizations which infested the less-fortunate district of Boralus proved better, which lead the four sailors into more fortune. Very little attention was given to their activities, as they mostly ended in Kul Tiras' increased wealth after the third war. His prowess as a privateer increased gradually, mostly due to his mother - a former pirate - training him, and after a few years he was known well enough to Alliance officials. He received a letter to assist in detaining, or slaying, deserters, spies, and, of course, the Horde from the Hinterlands to the Cape. For each brought back, or proved dead, he was given a respectable sum of gold. For DeFortiere, there was a bonus to this, as he took items from targets that had put up enough challenge. Either their weapons or their heads ended up adorning his ship, though many were lost after his first ship was sunk. Baradin's Wardens Balamont and his crew were hired by the Baradin's Wardens to patrol the outlying sea once he'd made a name for himself. He had collected enough gold from bounties and assassinations of "Important" Orcish officials to afford a brig, while Lynne, Briar, and Carson shared a gunship. After six months of sailing and destroying Horde refugee ships and patrols, Balamont ventured too far outside of Baradin territory, and encountered two Horde patrol ships. Reluctantly, he layed down his weapons, and was ready to accept surrender. Surrender didn't come, and instead a hail of bullets struck his ship and killed most of his crew, sinking Lynne's gunship, while the remaining wounded jumped off and became shark food. Balamont ran into the bottom reaches with his pistol, leaving his dagger behind, and readying himself for death. Once the water was up to his knees, five large cannon shots could be heard outside, his men had already damaged one of the Orcish ships while another vessel, which he assumed to be a Baradin's Warden's, finished it off successfully. This caused fear and anger in the crew of the Horde's ship which was forced, through sinking, to give room for the supposed Warden ship to reach DeFortiere's. To his surprise it turned out to be Gilnean, not having time to make a comment about walls, Balamont simply pointed toward where the last Horde ship went off to. The Gilnean captain sailed toward it, chasing it into a large Kul Tiran warship opened fire on what remained of the Horde patrol ship. He later learned the names of the foreign crew, chiefly Berenal, and was given a permanent position in the Blades as navigator of their Naval Forces, as he was assumed dead for a second time by the Kul Tiran military. Lynne, Briar, and Carson were all re-equipted and put under Balamont's command. House Lockewood & Greyfield Balamont, upon the Lord Greyblade's refocusing on the Ashen Coast, was given the option to take a secondary job; spying. The Greyfield Lady had to be watched due to her family's history, and the trauma that came with it, and as such DeFortiere was enlisted as a bannerman of House Greyfield. Upon the Lady of Greyfield's death, Balamont was instructed to stay in the Reach while Berenal chose a new regent. This served as a small vacation period, which he took advantage of for bounties, until Lilurah Lockewood was chosen to command the Greyfield's former assets. His job remained the same, and was considered in action after Lady Lockewood's capture. After Lilurah went missing, his focus has been largely turned to ports in Westfall and Vulpin Isle, rather than spying. From Vulpin to Havre During the Sanguine Tides campaign, Thomas (Jokingly) said they should give Turva, now Greywall, to him. After this was taken seriously and b ecame an option, however, he began to aggressively assert himself as the "Only real choice", even though it meant giving up Vulpin back to Cedrec Delcarn's control. At home on the island and its similar culture to Crestfall, albeit bereft swamps, he changed his last name to his mother's, both to be better received and to shake off his father's disgrace from himself. Due to a political marriage to Coralie Lafitte, who was named Lady of Havre, he has gained substantially more benefits for himself. Philosophy Balamont considers any race in the Horde to be an enemy, including "Neutral" members of said race, and has only not attacked them directly because of the risk being too high. However, he's responsible for a few trolls and orcs going "Missing" during their argent patrols. Likewise, he considers neutrality to be a blight on the world, and any who don't support eradication of the Horde are its sympathizers, and therefor are just as much an enemy. The only neutral organization he holds any respect for is Ravenholdt, and even then, only its humans. The organization of payed murderers has earned its exception purely because they represent what Balamont believes he became after the Third War, although far less inclined to work with Blackbloods. Still, non-argent coin is frequently accepted. His loyalties are only to himself, his country, and Lord Grayblade. This could be considered to be expanded to his employers, as he nearly always completes a contract, but any loyalty to them went away after being paid. He proved this by, after handing in his contract on a Alteraci noble's son, stabbing his employer in the throat for an Alliance official's bounty on said noble. DeFortiere has no sense of honor, often faking peace or surrender, before using the time to get a jump on his target or assailant. He's been known to strike dishonorable blows constantly, and even going as far as to throw a mixture of sand and glass into his enemy's eyes. Poisons only further his scummery, varying from crippling to utterly deadly to maddening. After years of hunting men, both human and no, he's become utterly intoxicated with the hunt. A form of sadism has seeped into his personality, though it's largely kept in check. Appearance Thomas Balamont DeFortiere's build was nothing too admirable. Years of rowing, swordplay, running (Usually away), and ambushes both grand and less-so have sculpted his arms into above average shape, though his legs are ideal for a runner. Long, dark brown hair hair extends to his shoulderblades, straight as a knife and usually soaked from sea water. His face holds only one scar, just above the right edge of his lip, somewhat like a triangle on its side. A burn-mark has made its spot under the right half of his cheek and half-way down his neck, red though not crusty. Likely not from anything too serious. Navy blue, piercing eyes made for staring and gathering intelligence are probably his most prominent features, only considered comely by a few and an honorless scoundrel of a would-be pirate to others. Balamont's skin is an all-around bronze, made so by constant sunlight from the open ocean, while his hands are calloused and usually covered by a device to help him get the upper hand in combat to cards. Personality Tenacity, perversion, avarice, cockiness, professionalism, selfishness, and sadism define Balamont. Often indistinguishable from an average pirate, the only difference being his seriousness, Balamont has been forced to carry official papers at all times to prove he's under the Crown's service and not exclusively his own. Not a nice man by any means, DeFortiere has usually been avoided in neutral cities by most men other than employers, though his semi-anti-social attitude helps in its own way. Easy to anger and reasonably skilled in hiding it, as well as most other emotions, Sir Thomas Balamont DeFortiere has purposely distanced himself from human closeness, replacing them with either pets or boats. For men which have no price on their heads,a nd could prove useful, he has been known to end up sparing them purely to use in his fleet. Even though many of these would-be prisoners turned sailors are Tirassian, it seems few have caught on to his blatant favoritism, which he hopes to translate to his enemies thinking him a merciful human being. Other than that, he's proved himself utterly ruthless to those he believes have spited him, plan to do so, or have a large sum of gold to pay for their death. holla holla get dolla Employers Organizations Balamont was payed to fight for in order: Tirassian Navy: Even though he was declared dead officially, he managed to join a few different crews as a privateer, thereby aligning himself with Kul Tiras. Crime Circles: Mostly smaller cartels, Balamont worked in smuggling and stealing goods from merchant ships and taking a few hits from the larger circles. Stopped before his name could be spread too far. Independent Employers: Started taking jobs from private citizens, eventually even those neutral, purely for gold income. Continued from this point to today. Scarlet Crusade: Assisting in defenses against the Scourge and raiding Argent Dawn outposts. Northsea Pirates: After their former Captain's demise, raiding wayward ships soon ended up paying well. Alliance Military: Spying and assassinations. Bloodsail Buccaneers: Minor raids, attack on Booty Bay (Ran off during it.) Northwatch Expeditionary: Taking down Horde soldiers, both important or otherwise, in Ratchet via barfights, as well as scouting missions. Left a month in after being offered a job on Tol Barad. Baradin's Wardens: Spying, patrolling, and assassinations. Ship sunk off the coast of Tol Barad. Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Tirasian Category:Blades of Greymane Category:Rogues Category:Gray Company